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A total of 506 more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Ireland, while one more person has died.
It brings the total number of infections here to 40,086 since the pandemic began.
The latest figures were announced by the Health Department tonight.
Dublin is once again the worst affected area, with 91 more infections reported.
They were followed by Cork with 76, Donegal with 53 and Meath with 42.
(Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin)
While the remaining 244 cases are in 21 counties.
Of the cases reported today:
- 240 are men / 265 are women
- 64% are under 45
- 39% confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 59 cases have been identified as community transmission
It comes after a top doctor said it would be a “big request” for Ireland to avoid a Level 5 lockdown, but the Level 3 measures “could work” if people follow the guidelines.
Martin Coyne, a GP based in Lifford, Co Donegal, explained that the public should adhere to current rules and avoid social gatherings.
“It’s a big decision to go to Level 5,” he said.
“And you know what? Level 3 would work if people stick to it, if people do what they are supposed to do.
“If they did the simple things we’ve all heard about: wash their hands, keep their distance, avoid social gatherings, wear a mask in a store, all of those things.”
He told RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne: “Level 3 might work, and we could avoid going to Level 5, but it’s a great question.”
Coyne’s comments did not completely match those of Dr. Tomas Ryan, a Trinity College professor who followed him on air.
Dr Ryan from Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology said it “would be appropriate” for the National Public Health Emergency Team of Ireland (NPHET) to recommend Level 5 restrictions after their meeting today.
A frequent critic of the government’s approach to managing the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Ryan said: “At this stage in history, it seems that increasing restrictions is the only way to control this.
“Our testing capacity has been saturated, our public health physicians are completely overloaded, so the tracking is not complete at this time.
“And furthermore, we can see that Tier 3 is not having a substantial enough effect on Dublin.”
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